Carly's Promise
by ObsessiveCompulsiveValkyrie
Summary: With new power at his disposal, Jack makes a vow to the one person he could never forget. Jack/Carly.


So, I was watching through 5D's subs and I just finished the Red Nova arc. While I was watching, I couldn't help but feel like the two boys (Jack and Yusei) should've had a bigger reaction to seeing the Nazca Lines. Then my brain went off to think Jack should have thought about Carly and how she was doing now. And maybe give a fleeping explanation as to why he ignores her in the WRGP arc ⌐.⌐ So, yeah. This is the result ^_^

**I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or any of it's characters. The cover image is a fanart I found online and credit goes to the original artist. Text added by me.**

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**Carly's Promise**

_How could anyone tolerate this desolate climate?_

Jack stood at the top of the collapsed rubble, looking down over the barren wasteland below. There was nothing but dry, cracked soil for miles, and the sun shining overhead only made it worse. It was a desert, no two ways about it. His eyes drifted across the landscape, absorbing the markings across the land.

It wasn't paint or chalk, didn't fade in the rain. Not that it ever rained there, anyway, but surely it must have in the last five thousand years. The white lines decorated the ground, creating shapes like animals and other things. There were as many as the eye could see, spanning across the wasteland in various sizes. His eyes fell on one very familiar one to the north, causing him to pause and stare for a moment.

_The Hummingbird… Carly's sign._

His hands clenched into fists, his lip raising in a snarl. What those creatures did to innocent lives was despicable. They twisted their thoughts and played with them. Made them do things they normally would never consider. Carly would never hurt anyone, but that thing had her sacrificing thousands to resurrect it.

_Unforgivable_.

He looked down at the silver card in his hand, frowning at the sight of Red Nova Dragon. He had come here looking for ultimate power. Power to fight Yliaster. Power to save the world. Power to protect those that couldn't fight for themselves.

_Like Carly._

He would protect her. She hadn't seemed to remember anything from the Dark Signer War about them, so he had chosen not to say anything. He decided he would let her go on as the gawky and—dare he even _think_ it—cute reporter girl she was meant to be. There would be time for him to confess his feelings later. She needed to be herself and grow. She didn't need an arrogant duelist like him holding her back.

His friends in Team 5D's had picked up on his budding relationship with Carly back then, and when they asked why he didn't pursue her now, he would bark a laugh and say he didn't need a woman weighing him down. Though Akiza had slapped him the first time he'd said it, the others all seemed to let it slide and ignore it.

_They just didn't know…_

The irony of it all wasn't that she would weigh him down, it was that he would weigh her down. She was a free-flying spirit, one that chased facts in the form of fantasy. She dreamed big, and she didn't need someone like him keeping her from soaring.

_Fly free, Carly…_

Clenching his free hand into a fist, he glared at the Hummingbird marker and made a silent vow. No matter what happened to him, he would keep her safe. He would do what he could to make sure she didn't get too deeply involved with Yliaster and their plot. And, when it was all over, then…

_Then I can tell her what I feel._

Red Nova Dragon. His soul. His Burning Soul. What people didn't know was that the King's soul had burned brightly before. Not out of a desire to win, but a desire to feel. To acknowledge that gaping void that had felt so empty for so long. Carly was the only piece to finish the puzzle. Touching one hand over his heart, he let a small smile crack as decided.

_One day, Carly, I'll be the man you deserve._

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Short, but it got it out of my system :P What'd you think?

Oh, and please stop by my Facebook! I tend to give updates on my life and writing there, so swing by if you're curious! **facebook. c!om/ OCValkyrie** (Remove spaces and exclamation point)

Please review!

-Valk


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